The invention relates to a valve assembly and particularly to a valve assembly for fluid flow into a chamber having a pair of independent subchambers separated by a flexible wall.
Many structural arrangements where fluid is to flow into a fluid chamber utilize valve assemblies to control the inlet to the chamber. A common valve assembly used for this purpose is a check type valve assembly where a valve member is operable to open or close the inlet by movement into and out of engagement with a valve seat in the valve assembly. Usually such a valve member is designed to open by the force of fluid pressure against a biasing force tending to hold the valve member seated or in its closed position.
In inflatable products such as aircraft escape slides, rafts or flotation tubes, gas is used to inflate the product through an inlet into a main inflation chamber defined by the flexible outer walls of the product. Many of these inflatables are currently designed such that the inflation chamber is in reality two fluidly independent subchambers separated internally by a fluid impervious wall sometimes referred to as a "bulkhead". This feature assures that in the event of puncture, tear, etc., at an outer wall portion of the inflatable, complete deflation of the articles will not occur because one or the other of the independent subchambers remains intact and inflated.
To satisfactorily inflate such subchambered structures it is often necessary to provide separate inlets to each subchamber fitted with independent valves so that the subchambers remain fluidly independent. However, spatial requirements and/or other environmental factors render such separate inlets impractical. For example, wheeled helicopters are often fitted with inflatable flotation tubes at the hub portion of each wheel. The limited space allowed for inlet into the inflatable flotation tube dictates a minimization of hoses, tubing, etc., making independent inlets to each of subchamber undesirable.